I haven’t watched Question Time in years and didn’t bother this time, as the show itself was of little consequence. Predictably the panel did all they could to condemn and distance themselves from Griffin, who today casts himself as the hero who survived a lynch mob.

The BNP entered the Question Time bear pit with nothing to lose. Their support remains small and is most likely to be made up of hardened supporters who are not at all bothered by the party’s racism. One in five Britons describe themselves as racist anyway, a substantial group to which the BNP can market itself.

This massive publicity boost will only help the BNP win support from people who feel disconnected from mainstream politics; people who lack the skills and education to take advantage of the opportunities contemporary Britain offers; people who are instinctively conservative; people who believe in an imagined 1950s style golden age when Britain was white, entirely heterosexual and women were happy as homemakers; people who are ready to believe fascism’s myths and are open its simplistic solutions.

British fascism has been unable to capitalise on this sentiment in the past, as it has suffered from disarray and Griffin has proved himself an effective politician by uniting the movement around the BNP, we underestimate him at our peril.

That he came across as a complete tool to you is of little consequence: there are plenty of people who think the same of Brown, Cameron and Clegg. That his working class credentials are poor, really doesn’t count for anything either.

Now that the BBC has decided that he qualifies for a platform, this Question Time is just the first of a series of appearances that will help make fascism more acceptable to this 22 per cent.

I don’t think the BNP vote will go as far as one in five, but we should be prepared to see them approach double figures.